Thanksgiving, Holiday Times at The Nutcracker, Local Wineries, Mt Rainier and the Writing Life Holiday Edition

Glenn and I at the Nutcracker at McCaw Hall, Seattle

Thanksgiving, Holiday Times at the Nutcracker

Hello! Hope you had a good Thanksgiving weekend with a minimum of friction, family, travel, or otherwise.

We had a quiet Thanksgiving with my little brother—Glenn made a duck dinner with sweet potato and cranberry pies. A low-key affair, but nice. It’s always good to have some downtime catching up with family. It was my older brother’s birthday, too, and my grandmother’s (who passed away a few years ago). My little brother Mike told a funny story about finding a book of Grandma Opal’s recipes, trying them out, and finding that he didn’t like them at all. Well, neither of my grandmothers were really the cooking types, although I do remember her making divinity from scratch once.

Glenn, me and Mike

After Thanksgiving, I decided we should go see The Nutcracker, which Glenn had never seen before. My mother took me when I was a kid, and I had a ballerina classmate who got us free tickets in high school, but I hadn’t seen it in a long time. I was surprised by some of the changes—this was Balanchine’s Nutcracker, a version which I guess I hadn’t seen before—and the while the costumes and sets were beautiful, I didn’t like some of the changes to the music or the decision to take away Clara and the Prince’s Pas de Deux. There were lots of kids—some of them screaming or crying—not ballet fans, I guess—some of them dressed in ballerina outfits and snapping pictures everywhere, which was cute. Even now, Tchaikovsky can make me get up and want to dance around the room. I learned that the Dance of the Sugar Plum fairies used an instrument brand new to the world when he wrote the songs—the celesta, which most of you might know from John Williams’ “Hedwig’s Theme”—and that his younger sister died while he was writing the ballet, which might have made it more melancholy in nature than it might have been.

Mt Rainier, winter trees

Holiday Wineries and Mt Rainier

Today we stopped off to see the wineries and drop off a toy at J. Bookwalter’s Toys for Tots drive (’til Dec 7th and they give you a free tasting if you’re not already a member!) We walked around Chateau Ste Michelle and though there weren’t as many decorations or gifts as seasons past (they’ve had several changes of ownership, and it doesn’t feel as warm or festive as it once did) it was still nice to have the holiday feeling. It was super cold (got our first frost last night, much to our hummingbirds’ disapproval) but sunny, and we got to see the mountain, which even against a wintry backdrop is beautiful. We also put up our tree, which makes the house seem a little warmer and brighter. I did zero Christmas shopping this weekend, which may be a reaction to all the “spend spend spend” commercials and e-mails.

The Writer’s Life (Holiday Edition)

And how does the writer’s life change during the holiday season? Do you find yourself writing more or less? Is shopping or holiday card sending taking up time you would usually spend investigating journals or publishers? I haven’t been writing as much as I would like lately, holiday or no holiday, but I did manage to get a few submissions out after a pretty brutal book rejection the day before Thanksgiving (kept for more than a year with a “sorry it took so long” message after I’d been a finalist there multiple times. Ouch.) I’m starting to feel less sure about this book, which I used to have so much confidence in, my best book yet (I thought), fun and maybe even necessary. It’s also a little feminist, a little speculative, and more open about disability, which may mean it doesn’t appeal to everyone, especially in these “risk-averse” times. Anyway, think good thoughts as I send the manuscript out yet again, along with some poems. It is a good season for reading, and I’ve got a stack of books to read for the winery book club (trying to pick a literary art mystery for January). I’m doing more social things this December too—if I can avoid covid or pneumonia which a bunch of people I know have picked up recently—and one more Writer’s Digest tutorial—as well as some end of the year medical testing I have to get done before my deductible rolls over, so maybe I shouldn’t be too ambitious. But spending time being creative can be a good reminder to us during a hectic time of our true selves, and the things we truly value. Even if it’s just a sketch, a poem, a few photographs—I encourage you too to spend a little time doing something that inspires and energizes you. Happy almost-December to you all!